Teamwork makes for great events

There’s no question community newspapers and their respective readerships share a symbiotic relationship.

That might sound clinical and we hesitate to apply too antiseptic a description, but there’s a certain clarity to it that defines what we do together. From the moment of assignment to the final, printed product, journalists and their public share a unique relationship built on trust, timeliness, integrity and accuracy. Anyone who thinks reporters write and readers merely read has missed a critical part of the equation.

In fact, an essential aspect of symbiosis is cooperation, and nowhere is this more evident than in our efforts to serve and the community’s response to that endeavour.

Cynics mutter that newspapers and the industry in general has turned its back on small communities, but we resist such claims vigourously. Community newspapers have been and continue to be the bastion of local news, arts and sports coverage that simply is no longer available in provincial and national publications.

Those entities have an entirely different focus and succeed by refining that vision to a very fine point, but our strength lies in the ability to react to what’s local, service an immediate need and provide commentary on grassroots issues of the day in a timely and responsible manner.

Thus, it was a pleasure for staff at The Hants Journal to cover last weekend’s Sam Slick Days. The annual celebration acknowledges the first true internationally-acclaimed author in this province and is a linchpin by which the town secures its place not only in history, but present-day Nova Scotia.

Moreover, Sam Slick Days offers our staff the opportunity to interact in a very intimate way with our readers and applaud those who sacrifice many hours to organize an event as sophisticated as this.

We do so directly by recording for posterity the many faces, places and events that comprise Sam Slick Days. What greater reward for an event organizer than the happy smile of a child as the Grand Street Parade passes in procession? What better recommendation for the fine service given to the community by our firefighters than to detail their skill in a vehicle extrication competition? What could be more appropriate than the presentation of those many friends and neighbours who participated in the car show, Street Fair, waterfront concert and myriad other events that comprised a chockful slate of Sam Slick Days events?

Indeed, at each of these venues organizers recognized and responded to our presence with communication and complete access. So many made it easy for us to do the job and we’re delighted to complete the circuit and give back, as this particular edition illustrates in pictures and words.

Windsor, you made the weekend shine, and the level of cooperation we received in covering Sam Slick Days 2007 was fantastic. We believe it’s representative of the symbiotic relationship between the town, its constituents and this publication, and indicative of a shared responsibility to ensure solid news coverage and quality journalism.

Such are the hallmarks of community newspapers and we applaud all those who gave us the chance last weekend to show exactly why Windsor is the little town of big firsts.